Property bubble could reach level of 1997

Analysts warn that Hong Kong could see a repeat of the 1997 property bubble as government figures show that the supply of new flats has dropped to a five-year low, a condition that could boost prices to unsustainable heights.

Harsh crackdown on illegal cabs backfires

The government could arrest every illegal taxi driver in the city tomorrow, but it would not do any good unless they remove the reason they exist in the first place.

How burying a tradition fuelled black market in corpse-selling

The numbers are especially upsetting in the light of an online poll that showed crematoriums to be one of the 10 most profitable industries.

Summer Palace on trail of looted relics

Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, has embarked on a global hunt for relics looted from the site nearly 150 years ago by British and French troops.

Singapore prepares to tighten hedge fund regulations

Singapore is preparing to tighten regulations for hedge funds and other alternative fund managers, potentially making it more difficult and expensive for smaller newcomers to set up operations, sources said.

Rising seas threaten Shanghai

Global warming and melting glaciers are raising sea levels, leaving people in coastal areas vulnerable to flooding

Ex-Google China chief banks on e-commerce

Lee Kai-Fu, who recently left Google China to start a fund backed by some of Greater China’s biggest technology names, is eyeing cloud computing, e-commerce and the mobile platform industry for some of his first investments.

Chongqing choppers ‘just friends’

An alleged Chongqing triad boss has pleaded not guilty to most of the charges against him, saying chopping attacks against rivals were carried out by members of his group out of nothing more than “friendship”, local media reported.

100b yuan fake-invoice ring smashed in Guangzhou

Police in Guangzhou said they had smashed a network that produced and distributed fake invoices with a face value of about 100 billion yuan (HK$113.7 billion).

New Singapore player for high-powered BMW

German carmaker BMW is poised to appoint businessman Anthony Chan as a new dealer for its M models - high-powered Beemers costing upwards of $300,000 each.

China comes a-calling for US job seekers

The Chinese, mostly local government officials, including representatives from personnel or talent recruitment bureaus, had travelled half way around the world to look for the best and brightest to play a leading role in furthering their cities’ economic transformation.

While the Chinese scouts chiefly targeted overseas mainland Chinese in the past, this time round, they broadened their search to include Americans as well.

Mainland developers in IPO rush amid signs market losing appetite

It is a US$6 billion cash grab. That is the combined amount of money eight mainland property developers have either just raised or are planning to generate on the Hong Kong stock market.

Hired guns? Not us, say private psychiatrists

They say conflicting views given in court a natural result of an inexact science

Beijing to refuse permits, ban financing in overcapacity sectors

The mainland vowed on Monday to curb overcapacity in six industrial sectors by withholding approval for new investment and by starving them of financing.

Cloudy Prospects for Investing Down Under

The recent collapse of several Chinese investment deals in Australia is raising concerns about government barriers.

New gangs have emerged

Triads in China began life as secret societies organised to unseat the last imperial dynasty, but they later moved into criminal activities and flourished in pre-communist China.

China gripped by mob trials

Crackdown exposes sordid ties between criminals and officials

Stimulus-driven China growth risks slowdown

China’s stimulus-induced lending binge probably propelled growth in the third quarter to its fastest pace in a year. Now, policymakers have to figure out how to wean the economy off state support.

Why UOB-KH put trading curbs on Transcu stock

High trading volumes coupled with ‘rapid and inexplicable’ price jumps by shares of Transcu Group over the past seven days prompted UOB-Kay Hian to restrict trading on the stock, a source familiar with the matter told BT yesterday.

Death of Malaysian Political Aide

The inquest into the mysterious death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock took a dramatic turn yesterday, after a well-known Thai pathologist said that it was most likely a killing.